Rodriguez-Abreu v. Sessions

288 F. Supp. 3d 494
CourtUnited States District Court
DecidedJanuary 22, 2018
DocketCASE NO. 16–1370 (GAG)
StatusPublished

This text of 288 F. Supp. 3d 494 (Rodriguez-Abreu v. Sessions) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States District Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rodriguez-Abreu v. Sessions, 288 F. Supp. 3d 494 (usdistct 2018).

Opinion

GUSTAVO A. GELPI, United States District Judge

Plaintiffs, eleven correctional officers,2 sued Defendants, the United States, et al.,3 *496under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) and for violating rights guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971). (Docket No. 52). Presently before the Court is Defendants' motion to dismiss (and a supplement) under rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (Docket Nos. 53; 72). After reviewing the parties' submissions and pertinent law, Defendants' motion to dismiss is GRANTED .

I. Factual and Procedural Background

Plaintiffs were correctional officers at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. (Docket No. 52 at 4-5). While they were employed, in February 2013, a fellow guard was murdered. Id. at 5. A day later, the FBI interviewed Plaintiffs and transported them and their families to a safe house somewhere in Puerto Rico, and later, to the United States. Id. at 5-6. Once in the United States, Plaintiffs moved with their families to locations where friends or relatives lived. Id. at 6. Eventually, the Bureau of Prisons reassigned Plaintiffs to facilities at those locations. Id. According to Plaintiffs, they were assigned to work with inmates at those locations and placed in direct and imminent danger. Id. The ensuing facts provided in the complaint are presented confusingly and, fortunately, are not dispositive at this stage. The main takeaway, however, is that Plaintiffs filed administrative tort complaints between 2014-15. Id. at 10-12. Eventually, in March 2016, Plaintiffs filed the first of four complaints in this case.

If one were to print the four versions of Plaintiffs' complaint, the corresponding motions to dismiss, responses, and requests for leave to amend the complaint, the stack of papers would, as Winston Churchill once said, "by its very length defend[ ] itself against the risk of being read."4 Originally, Plaintiffs filed a complaint asserting claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) and Bivens, 403 U.S. at 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999. (Docket No. 1). Months later, they filed the first of three amended complaints. (Docket No. 22). When Defendants replied by filing their first motion to dismiss, Plaintiffs amended their complaint again, replacing the FTCA claims with claims under the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA). (Docket Nos. 23; 28; 29). In due time, Defendants moved to dismiss the CSRA claims because Plaintiffs failed to exhaust administrative remedies; the Court agreed and dismissed the CSRA count. (Docket Nos. 38; 42) When Defendants moved to dismiss the surviving Bivens claim in a separate motion, Plaintiffs asked to amend their complaint again. (Docket Nos. 43; 47). The Court acquiesced. In the third amended complaint, Plaintiffs substituted their claims under the CSRA for claims under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). (Docket Nos. 51; 52).

Thus, the third amended complaint asserts claims under the APA and Bivens . Plaintiffs allege that the APA allows them to seek judicial review for the decision to transfer them from the MDC to other prisons without adequate notice. (Docket No. 52 at 15). In their second count, Plaintiffs allege that Bivens entitles them to recover damages for Defendants' negligence *497for failing to consider the threats they received, as well as the health problems that arose as a result. Id. For the third time, Defendants move to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim. (Docket Nos. 53; 73).

II. Standard of Review

As courts of limited jurisdiction, federal courts must construe their jurisdictional grants narrowly. Destek Grp. v. State of N.H. Pub. Utils. Comm'n, 318 F.3d 32, 38 (1st Cir. 2003). Consequently, the party asserting jurisdiction carries the burden of showing the existence of federal jurisdiction. Viqueira v. First Bank, 140 F.3d 12, 16 (1st Cir. 1998). When deciding whether to dismiss a complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, the Court "may consider whatever evidence has been submitted, such as ... depositions and exhibits." Aversa v. United States, 99 F.3d 1200, 1210 (1st Cir. 1996) ; Torres v. Bella Vista Hosp., Inc., 523 F.Supp.2d 123, 132 (D.P.R. 2007). Motions brought under Rule 12(b)(1) are subject to the same standard of review as Rule 12(b)(6). Negrón-Gaztambide v. Hernández-Torres, 35 F.3d 25, 27 (1st Cir. 1994) ; Torres, 523 F.Supp.2d at 132.

When considering a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under Rule 12(b)(6), the Court analyzes the complaint in a two-step process under the current context-based "plausibility" standard established by the Supreme Court. See FED. R. CIV. P. 12(b)(6), Schatz v. Republican State Leadership Comm., 669 F.3d 50, 55 (1st Cir. 2012) (citing Ocasio-Hernández v. Fortuño-Burset,

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Bluebook (online)
288 F. Supp. 3d 494, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rodriguez-abreu-v-sessions-usdistct-2018.